BIOGRAPHY

In 2000, I graduated from Dundee University with a Master of Arts Degree in Politics, passing with First Class Honours. I then attended Strathclyde University's Scottish Centre for Journalism in Glasgow to study for a Post-Graduate Diploma in Journalism Studies.

During my time in Glasgow, I freelanced writing news for the Sunday Herald and sports reports for the Sunday Mail.

My first staff job was with the Irvine Times on the west coast of Scotland where I worked for seven months as a rookie reporter.

In February 2002, I moved to The Herald newspaper in Glasgow. As a news reporter, I covered major events such as Nelson Mandela’s visit to Barlinnie Prison to meet with the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the G8 summit and the Stockline factory explosion.

During my tenure at The Herald I specialised in subjects surrounding ethnic minorities and carried out investigations into people trafficking for the sex industry and organised football violence in Scotland. I also wrote for The Herald Magazine and won two awards for my reportage. I left The Herald in April 2006 to freelance and to concentrate full-time on human rights issues.

I'm a member of Amnesty International, the National Union of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists.

Billy Briggs.